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JUSTICE MALALA: Qedani Mahlangu - proof that the ANC is rotten to the core

'Their vote for Mahlangu sends a clear message: we will put a party leader far above the needs of the society we live in'

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30 July 2018 - 06:28 Justice Malala

EXTRACT

That message is clear and unambiguous. One can buy the “well, Brian Hlongwa is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law” story because it has some inkling of truth in it. In the case of Mahlangu, you just have to read former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s damning summation in his Esidimeni hearings last year and there is no doubt whatsoever that Mahlangu deserves no role in leadership.

We should stop making a distinction between the good ANC and the bad ANC. The rot is too deep, too ingrained within the party. The so-called good ANC is just the lesser of two devils. The good ANC is the ANC that does not even think twice before voting for a Qedani Mahlangu.

We have, sadly, become used to political leaders being callow, deceitful, two-faced liars who fill their boots at the expense of the poor people they claim to represent. It is a 21st-century reality.
We laughed at the time, but some of us are reminded of that former Mpumalanga premier Ndaweni Mahlangu. When he was confronted about appointing three dodgy MECs to his provincial cabinet back in 1999, he said, without any shame or irony: “It is acceptable for politicians to lie.”So last week the Gauteng ANC – which loftily told Jacob Zuma in the run-up to the 2014 election that he was so scandal-soaked and so ethically challenged that it would be best for him to steer clear of the province because he would cost the party voters – voted for Qedani Mahlangu to be part of its provincial executive committee.
Everyone now knows Qedani Mahlangu. Despite howls of protest from her officials she moved hundreds of patients from certified mental health facilities into uncertified, unregistered and...

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